BATS AND THE PANDANUS TREE

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I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF A PANDANUS TREE.

That is because you don't live in Indonesia or Hawaii or the South Sea Islands. People who live there know the pandanus tree very, very well. It is held in very high regard for all of its many uses.

 

REALLY? THE BOY THAT IS HOLDING WHAT I ASSUME IS A PANDANUS FRUIT LOOKS PLEASED WITH HIMSELF, SO THE FRUIT MUST BE GOOD TO EAT. WHAT ELSE IS THE TREE GOOD FOR?

A long list of things. But first I'll tell you about the bat-connection. The seeds of this valuable tree are planted by flying foxes.(3) The fruit is indeed good to eat and bats like it as much as people do.

Marianas flying fox

Now, on to what the whole tree is used for:

Fruit

• Eaten fresh and cooked. The fibrous nature of the fruit makes it a natural dental floss.(4)
• Jewelry - The fruit, as you can see, is divided into sections and they are made into necklaces and leis.

Flowers

• The flowers are pleasantly fragrant and are used to make cosmetics and perfumes.(3)

Aerial root tips, fruit skin, male flowers, leaves, inner bark (4)

• Medicine
  to treat scrofula, skin inflammation, sores, constipation, diarrhea, urinary tract problems, arthritis, stomach spasms, asthma, back pain, heart attacks, red parrot fish poisoning, internal fractures (4)

Timber

• Houses (1)
• Hollow tree limbs were used to irrigate taro patches in Hawaii.(1)

Leaves

• Fine mats are woven from the fibres in the pandanus tree's long leaves. Some of the leaves can be up to 6 feet(about 2 meters) in length. The mats are used for burials and special presentations, such as in an exchange of land.
• Sails for a Fijiian canoe, the camakau (pronounced thah-mah-cow) are woven from pandanus leaf fibres. (2)
  • Also: rope, baskets, containers,cushions, fans, roof thatch and food wrappers.(3,4)

Living trees

The pandanus tree has a prop root system which holds it in place in the coastal areas where it grows. This growing habit makes the pandanus tree important in preventing coastal erosion.(5)

And when the tree ages and slumps over, it makes a good perch for sunset and sea-watching.

References:

(1)Maui Community College, Native Hawaiian Plants on Campus; http://www.islandvisions.com/biology/hawaiian.html

(2)Balick, Michael J., Cox, Paul Alan, Plants, People and Culture, The Science of Ethnobotany,Scientific American Library, 1997, p. 107

(3)Fujita, M.S. 1991. Flying Fox (Chiroptera:Pteropodidae) Pollination, Seed Dispersal, and Economic Importance: A Tabular Summary of Current Knowledge, Resource Publication No. 2, Bat Conservation International

(4)Pandanus tectorius Plant Data; National Tropical Botanical Garden; http://www.ntbg.org/plants/plantresource_new3.php?rid=114&focus=2

(5)Pandanus:Aboriginal Use of Native Plants;Environment Protection Agency http://science.uniserve.edu.au/school/curric/stage4_5/nativeplants/gallery/pandanus/index.html

(6)Olsson, Gunilla, The socio-economic importance of non-timber forest products in the South Pacific: Focus on Vanuatu, FAO Corporate Document Repository;http://www.fao.org/docrep/u2440e/u2440e05.htm

Text and illustrations by Mary Louise Alley-Crosby who thanks Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle, President and Founder, Bat Conservation International, Austin, Texas, for permission to use his photograph of the Marianas flying fox as illustrative guidance.

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